halloween

Halloween Carnival

We’ve been wanting to host a Halloween Carnival party for a number of years and when we finally did it was a lot of fun, the party was based on a vintage time when Freak Shows visited our cities and towns with their very strange and unique acts.

The party included a Dessert Table with Free printables.

We hope you enjoy, Julie.

Halloween Carnival

Halloween Carnival

I used a lot of plastic carnival striped sceen setter on the walls and red and gold streamers from the ceiling to create an enclosed circus tent atmosphere.

Halloween Carnival

We made the ticket booth from cardboard and attached round white string llghts around the window. One of my favourite zombies was armed with a fist full of tickets to greet our guests.

Halloween Carnival Ticket Booth

Halloween Carnival Party Ideas

I created our halloween carnival by repurposing our normal halloween friends. Witches were transformed to Evil Clowns, and zombies and ghouls were given a new outfit and transformed into members of the carnival.

Halloween Carnival Freak Show Acts

Our skeletons were transformed to Clown-etons and decked with clown props, we included some carnival games including a strong man hammer hit.

Halloween Clown Skeletons

Halloween Carnival Ideas

All good halloween carnivals require a cannibal and circus wagon. This circus wagon was easy to make with a lot of cardboard, streamers and gold paint, the inner bottom of the wagon is littered with body parts and bones.

Halloween Carnival Circus wagon

The front door was ringed with red balloons and rich red and gold panne velvet curtains.

Halloween Carnival Entry Door transformation

Halloween Carnival entry

I really loved this plastic clown wall hanging, it went perfectly on a pair of door.

Halloween Creepy Clown

I created a set of “siamese twins” by placing two smaller halloween props in one dress and transformed a zombie into a “snake charmer”.

Halloween Freak Show Siamese Twins

Halloween Freak Show Snake Charmer

While, this did take time, the effect of red and gold streamers to create a circus tent pitch was amazing - when used correctly, streamers can be a very cost effective way to transform a room.

Halloween Carnival tent

Another Freak show member was “Ivan the Terrible - Knife Man” and my smallest props were transformed into the “World’s smallest little people”.

Halloween Carnival Freak Show

Halloween Carnival Freak Show

Halloween Carnival Dessert Table

Our Dessert table continued with the halloween carnival theme with evil clown cup cakes, Clown Cookies and petite fairy floss or cotton candy treats, We created a set of carnival printables for this party that you can download for free at the end of this post.

Halloween Carnival Dessert Table

We kept the cup cakes simple and added an evil clown topper, for fairy floss I used the Persian variety and placed amounts in small black paper patty pans on a candy stick with black bows.

Halloween Clown Cup Cakes

Halloween Fairy Floss

Evil clown cookies completed the dessert table.

Evil Clown Cookies

A non-alcoholic punch was created and topped with fariy floss, and our Jack O Lantern was Pennywise - This was an excellent Jack O Lantern.

Halloween Carnival Punch

Pennywise Jack- O Lantern

Pennywise Jack- O Lantern

Layered Jelly is always a favourite, we made personalised wine glass tags from the cake topper circles. Billy just happened to be cycling by the jelly.

Halloween Carnival Layered Jelly

We have created a free range of printables for this party that can be downloaded here Cup Cake Toppers , Food Tents, Carnival Signs and Boarder Print

Halloween Carnival Free Printables

This was a great party, I decided to be the ring master, attend by my fortune teller and clown.

We hope you enjoy

How to make an Electric Chair - Halloween

This year we had an Asylum Halloween so I felt we needed an electric chair to “shock” our guests. This was our end result, it was quite easy to make and was very effective, we added strobe lighting and “electricity crackling” to enhance the realness of the chair. We hope you enjoy our tutorial.

This was part of a large asylum party which can be viewed here.

How to make an Electric Chair

How to make an Electric Shock Chair

Step 1

Starting with the Electric Chair Brain electrode: This was made using an old colander, Battery operated red LED lights, Paint and an extension cord with 1 meter reserved for the cap.

Step One - How to make an Electric Chair

Step Two:

Paint the colander all over with black paint, this will take a few coats of paint, Remove the plastic cover from approximately 1 meter of the extension cord so you can use the wire (Careful where you cut as you want to preserve length near the plugs). Paint the remainder of the extension cord, including the plugs in black paint.

Step 2 — How to make an Electric Chair

Step Three

Push the red LEDs through the holes in the colander and secure with a hot glue gun, twist sections of wire so they protrude and look exposed from the top of the cap, I also used wire to secure the light battery in place.

Step Three - How to make an Electric Chair

Step Four

Add the end of the electric extension cord to the centre of the cap and secure in place, I split the wire on the hidden end and tied the wires in place.

Step four - How to make an Electric Chair

Step five

The frame was made to be secure, I found an old pallet and spray painted it black, we they made a sturdy fame of treated pine that was screwed to the pallet, we attached coasters for the chair legs so the chair would stay in place.

After lots of searching for the perfect chair we settled on a hospital style mobility impairment chair, this had a sturdy frame while having that “medical institution look”. We managed to find this in a thrift shop.

Halloween Electric Chair

Step five - How to make and Electric Chair

Step 6

I made the sides of the chair using plastic stone wall wrap, this was secured in place using large bull dog clips, black fabric was used for the top. The electric brain cap was attached to the remainder of the electrical extension cord, we left the extension cord only loosely attached so it could be placed lower or higher depending on the height of the victim.

Step 6 - How to make an Electric Chair

Step 7

Arm and leg restraints were made from wide belts, found at thrift shops and cut to size

Step 8

Two strobe lights were attached to the top of the wooden frame, with more bull dog clips, they were then attached to a single power source. We placed a sound track of electricity crackling near the chair that was controlled via an iPad.

Step 8 - How to make an Electric Chair

Step Nine

The final finishing touchers included placing dark green velvet at the front entrance, our electric chair photo booth sign, some carrion birds and lastly an electric danger animated device that I happened to find at a local party shop. Our Electric Shock photo booth sign can be downloaded here.

We hope enjoyed this tutorial.

Asylum Halloween Party with Asylum Dessert Table

I’ve been wanting to host a Halloween Asylum party for a number of years, it is a dark theme and heavily features the morgue , electric chair and various collections from a slightly crazy psychiatric doctor, nurses and patients. We included an Asylum Dessert Table and free asylum printables.

Enjoy

Halloween Asylum Party

Key features are our morgue and electric chair, we fashioned our morgue from an existing cupboard, we created foil covered sliding racks for the bodies and black velvet so only the feet were visible, as a final touch toe tags were attached. Our electric chair worked really well with sounds and flash strobe lighting, a tutorial for the electric chair can be viewed here.

Halloween Morgue

Halloween Electric Chair

Our morgue included a large assortment of bottled organs in both vintage and modern display jars.

Halloween Morgue

Our asylum had stone walls, skeletons still chained in their chairs and an old asylum kitchen complete with vintage bedpans.

Halloween Asylum Decorating ideas

Halloween Asylum Decorating Ideas

Our asylum was also plenty full of patients, all chained in place.

Halloween Asylum Decorating Ideas

Our Asylum Kitchen included two blood spattered children making mince meat from various body party and organs. And our Admissions Nurse “Nurse Betty” was an imposing feature at the door.

Asylum Halloween Decorating Ideas

Asylum Halloween Nurse

We used a set of skulls to display the various levels or mental impairment from Lunatics to imbeciles.

Halloween Asylum Skull Display

We used a lot of furs and dark fabrics to transform our house into an asylum

Asylum Party Ideas

We created an office for our mad doctor with a vintage desk, chair and lots of old bottles and books, I printed some old photos of asylums to decorate the desk

Halloween Asylum Party

Halloween Asylum Party

We created the Asylum Dessert table to look like an old Asylum kitchen with a lot of old vintage kitchen pieces, including crystal and leather bottles and a vintage bed pan right under the table.

Asylum Dessert table

Asylum Cake Pops

Asylum Halloween Cake Pops

Our Dessert table included Lunatic Cake pops, Mortuary Saw Cookies, cup cakes feating abandoned Asylums and Candy Corn jelly.

Asylum Dessert Table

We made layered candy corn jelly topped with whipped cream and Mortuary Saw Cookies, dripping with blood.

Candy Corn Jelly Cups

Halloween Asylum Cookies - Mortuary Saw

The Cake Pops are Mad Doctors, we fashioned them all capes using a small and large foil patty pan papers, the cup cakes were simple but topped with details of old abandoned and condemned asylums. The circles are available as part of our free printable download.

Asylum Cake Pops

Asylum Cup Cakes

A punch of blue eyeballs rounded out dessert table.

Halloween Eyeball Punch

For the adults we created a selection of urine specimen cocktails, these were a mix of different clear spirits made with orange juice and different amounts of raspberry cordial to cause colour variation in the samples.

Urine Specimen Cocktails

Light refreshments were served on our mortuary table and displayed with mortuary tools and champagne glasses with our Asylum Wine Glass Circles.

Halloween Asylum Party

Halloween Asylum Party

Halloween Asylum Free Printables

Halloween Asylum Free Printables

Halloween Asylum Party

This was a fun party to create but did take time collecting the many small bits and pieces.

We hope you enjoy Julie

Zombie Apocalypse Party

Our Zombie Apocalypse party was set in a post apocalypse cafe filled with lots of tables, preserved foods and some pretty durable kitchen equipment.  

We created a game based on a skill exchange for food rather than money, a set of printables have been created for this game and are a free download.

This party complemented our Walking Dead Party and our Post Apocalypse Canapes. 

Enjoy Julie

Zombie Apocalypse Cafe

We created a number of small tables each with a table number, candle, flowers and salt and pepper.  

Zombie Apocalypse Table Setting

Zombie Apocalypse Zombie Warning

We used vintage gingham table cloths and a mix of old furniture which is what I imagine would occur in a post apocalypse world.  Zombie warning signs were positioned around the room.

Zombie Apocalypse Cafe with canned foods

This theme requires some lead time to collect lots of cans and large jars for cereals etc. 

Zombie Party Cafe

Zombie Party Cafe Counter

Our wait staff were using bloody aprons and we used some nice bats in the window.  The restaurant had a counter where you arranged your table and form or payment.

Zombie Apocalypse Party Food

Zombie Apocalypse Party Food

Sticking to our apocalypse theme we used a lot of very durable plates and cups, including tupperware and we did include some gruesome food, as it is halloween.

Zombie Party - Post Apocalypse Cafe 

Stone scene setter's were used on the wall and we added a Zombie baricaded at the window.  The television displayed a nice welcoming open fire.

Post Apocalypse Cafe

Post Apocalypse Cafe

Zombie Apocalypse Printables

The cafe was a good way to keep all the children busy.  We created a set of printables for this game that are available as a free download

Enjoy Julie

Download: Cafe Sign, Cafe Menu, Cafe table numbers or Cafe agreed payment

The Walking Dead Zombie Party

This was such an exciting party to put together, we are avid watchers of the walking dead and the battles against both the walkers and Negan.  For this party we went with a home invasion by the walkers and included elements from the governors room.  We also produced a post apocalyptic cafe serving some end of the world treats. 

The Walking Dead party - Zombie Invasion

For our table scene we positioned our dressed skeletons on the table with two animated zombies.  We made the scene quite gruesome by creating gut cavities that held various organs and intestines that were spilling onto the table. 

The Walking Dead Zombie Guts

The Walking Dead Carnage

The intestines were made with packing peanuts and liquid latex, you can find intestine tutorials on line, we used various organs including a beating heart.  Generous sprays of blood were used on the victims clothes.

The Governors Room

Ah, the governors room.  I can clearly remember the first scenes in the governors room with the rows of zombie heads in fish tanks.  This look was easy to create with skulls, latex zombies, fishtanks and pebbles.  We blacked out the sides and top of the tanks to make them look more gruesome.

The Walking Dead Zombie Heads

The Walking Dead Zombie Heads

In candle light, the zombie heads look very gruesome and the eyes tend to follow you around the room.

The Walking Dead - Zombie home Invasion

Tall candles and large vases of blood spattered roses completed our table.

The Walking Dead severed hands

The Walking Dead Entry Hall

We included severed hands and feet, reminiscent of many a butcher scene (aka Bob) and managed to find a zombie head scene setter that was perfect in the entry hall with another zombie.

The walking Dead Zombie

Zombie Front Door Protection

We used a lot of stone wall scene setters on our interior walls and card boards on the front door in an attempt to lock out the walkers.

The Walking Dead Post Apocalyptic Cafe

After much deliberation we decided to dress as zombies (a very comfortable option for halloween).  To keep the younger ones entertained we created a post apocalyptic cafe and post apocalyptic canapes.

Please Enjoy

Julie

The Walking Dead Party

Zombie Canapes from the Post Apocalyptic Cafe

In creating these canapes I asked the question:  "If it really was the end of the world, what would be left at the supermarket?".  After perusing the canned and bottled goods aisles I came to the conclusion that spam, gerkins, smoked oysters, champiginons and pickled cocktail onions could be contenders.  In isolation, many of these foods are completely palatable, but when you load a tray with mixed canapes with only these foods it becomes another matter.

Our canapes were skewered with long tooth picks and Zombie mini bunting.  These are available as a free download.

These are a must at your next walking dead or zombie party.

Enjoy - Julie

Zombie Canapes

The trick with these is to make each slightly different.  They can get quite tall so a tooth pick is a must.

The Walking Dead Canapes

Spam Canapes

Present the canapes on a vintage silver tray and be sure to make each guest try at least one!

Zombie Canapes

Zombie Party With Dessert Table

This party was a lot of fun to create.  Zombie's are currently very on trend with more than a few Zombie Apocalypse  movies and television shows available.  For our zombie party we created a zombie dessert table using a graveyard theme with tombstones and a grave digger.  This party includes free printable products so you can create this at home.

Enjoy Julie

Zombie Party Dessert Table

The dessert table was created as a zombie graveyard.  We used a plastic rock wall scene setter as the back drop.  We then added a black graveyard fence, tombstones and skulls.  Our stand out piece was our animated zombie grave digger complete with shovel.

zombie graveyard cupcakes

Zombie cake pops

Catering was keep simple but looked fantastic with graveyard cupcakes, eyeball and zombie cake pops, tombstone cookies and layered jelly cups.

Zombie cake pops

Eyeball cake pops

We made two types of cake pops. We made crazy green Zombies with bulging eyes and eyeball cake pops which we served with a fork.

Graveyard Cupcakes

graveyard and coffin cookies

The cupcakes were very effective, yet easy to make.  I made a basic chocolate cupcakes then iced with chocolate icing.  The tombstones were achieved by finding the right shape biscuit and giving them a generous chocolate coating, the ground was crushed chocolate ripple biscuits and a green plastic hand completed the look.  We included sugar cookies in tombstone and coffin shapes.  

Zombie Dessert Table

Zombie Dessert Table

The stone wall extended to the ceiling creating a formidable look for a graveyard

Graveyard with swarming bats

Zombie party dessert table

Graveyard with haunted Tree

To extend the graveyard look we extended the stone wall and created a cemetery using the same fencing and tombstones as the dessert table, this was completed with swarming bats and large spiders.  The front door was guarded by a creepy zombie and a haunted tree completed the look.

Zombie party dessert table

Zombie and eyeball cakepops

The colour palate of green and blue worked well with the grey stone and injected some colour into a dark palate.

Zombie party free printables

We created a small set of dessert table printable products for this party, these are available as a free down load (Download 1) - (Download 2).  

If you liked this Zombie party please see our Walking Dead party with a post apocolyspe cafe.

We hope you enjoyed our party 

Enjoy Julie

 

 

 

 

 

Zombie Brain Shooters

The perfect shooter for a Zombie party has to be a Zombie Brain Shooter. These are a great visual shooter and they are simple to make but require a slow steady hand to get the right separation of layers in the glass.  We served these at our Zombie party and they went were a real hit.

These are very nice indeed - Enjoy  Julie

Zombie Brain Shooter

To make a zombie brain shooter fill a shot glass 3/4 full with peach schnapps. Then very gently pour Bailey’s Irish Cream on top, I have found that pouring over a teaspoon can slow the flow to get a better result.  When almost full add a small amount of blue Curacao then grenadine syrup or a good heavy red cordial.

Halloween Vampire Party Game - The Blood Donation Room

At Halloween parties I always have an area dedicated to "keeping the children amused" so the adults can enjoy a quite, or not so quite drink.  This year was a vampire theme so we created a Vampire Blood donation room.  This had children dressed in bloody white coats taking blood donations from a group of happy donors.  A small set of printable items have been developed for this game.

Enjoy  Julie

Halloween Vampire Game - The Blood Donation Room

The Blood Donation room had lots of small bottles of blood (coloured water), blood bags, bloody bandages, syringes, white coats, face masks and bandaids.  Finally we included a reclining chair for the victims.

Halloween Vampire Party Blood Room

Halloween Blood Bags

We used a very old dresser as the counter for our blood collections, and a large black candelabra to hold the blood bags, the blood bags are easy to find on-line.

Halloween Vampire Party Decorating ideas

The decorations included a mix of vintage pieces including silver, glassware and bottles and modern halloween props.

Vampire Party Games

Vampire Party Games - Blood Drawing

Our young victims patiently waited their turn before being subjected to the blood drawing.

Halloween Vampire Game

Halloween Vampire Game - Blood Types

We developed a small set of printable items for the party, the waiting room had a sign, queue number and small circles for blood types.  The blood drawing room had small cards for the blood drawers to complete.  We found some blood syringe pens on-line.  This printable set is available in our shop.

Halloween Vampire Party blood decorations

Halloween Vampire Party games

We collected a lot of small bottles for this party, they were filled with water and red food dye to look like very dark blood.

Halloween Vampire Party Syringes and bandaids

Halloween Vampire Party decorating ideas

Syringes are easy to find on line. We included some small tweases and lots of bandaids in a vintage silver and glass serving dish.  The dressing table had lots of small shelves that were decorated with a few modern halloween pieces.

This was a great game for a vampire party and many an adult ventured into the blood donation room to emerge with a few artfully applied bandaids.  You may also like our other Vampire Posts: Vampire Dessert Table and Gothic Vampire Party.

The printable items we used for this party are available from our shop.

Halloween Vampire Game Printable Set

Halloween Vampire Family